page_title: Orson Pratt
section_title: Writer, historian and philosopher
hierarchical_section_title: Orson Pratt / Writer, historian and philosopher
caption_attribution_description: English: First page of the second issue of The Seer, published by S.W. Richards in behalf of Orson Pratt. Liverpool, England, February, 1853. Simultaneously published in Washington D.C., this is the Liverpool edition.
context_page_description: Orson Pratt Sr. was an American mathematician and religious leader who was an original member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He became a member of the Quorum of the Twelve of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was a leading Mormon theologian and writer until his death.
context_section_description: While in Illinois, Pratt acted as an instructor at the University of Nauvoo.
  In Utah, Pratt's strong skills in analysis and writing led Young to assign him to produce sermons and pamphlets dealing with religious topics. Pratt wrote sixteen pamphlets in defense of LDS Church doctrines, drawing on the works of Joseph Smith and his brother Parley P. Pratt. These include "Divine Authority, or the Question, Was Joseph Smith Sent of God?" in 1848 and "Divine Authenticity of the Book of Mormon" in 1850 and 1851. His pamphlet "An Interesting Account of Several Remarkable Visions" was the first published account of the First Vision and included a list of beliefs that is similar to Smith's 1842 "Articles of Faith". In "Absurdities of Immaterialism", Pratt  defended the Mormon doctrine of materiality, with reference to science, philosophy, and theology. Although these materials were primarily used in the mission field, Pratt was also a church spokesman on the topic of plural marriage. At a special  conference in Salt Lake City in August 1852, Pratt publicly preached a sermon announcing the doctrine of plural marriage. He later published an essay in defense of the practice in 12 monthly installments in the church periodical The Seer, which provides the most complete defense of the Mormon doctrine during this period. As part of his system of Mormon theology, Pratt embraced the philosophical doctrine of hylozoism.
  Pratt's views were not always without controversy. In 1865, a majority of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the LDS Church officially condemned some of Pratt's doctrinal writings, including some of his articles from The Seer:
  The Seer [and other writings by Pratt] contain doctrines which we cannot sanction, and which we have felt impressed to disown, so that the Saints who now live, and who may live hereafter, may not be misled by our silence, or be left to misinterpret it. Where these objectionable works, or parts of works, are bound in volumes, or otherwise, they should be cut out and destroyed.
  Pratt acted as Church Historian and Recorder from 1874 until his death. He edited many church periodicals and helped divide editions of the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants into verses and provided footnoted cross references.
caption: Second issue of The Seer February, 1853.
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